Adjacent to vehicle cabs equipped with facilities for overnight occupancy, some problems arise which this invention is designed to solve. In Europe, the cubage (volume) of contemporary sleeping cabs for trucks is usually as little as four to seven cubic meters. When one or two persons spend a number of hours in the cab overnight, the carbon dioxide content can become very high and can even exceed set limit values for the carbon dioxide content. The exhaled air has the effect, moreover, of raising the air humidity in the cab. This contributes to condensation problems and, as the cab is made of metal, the air humidity should be kept at a low level. In addition, the truck driver and/or co-passengers are occasionally forced to work in work clothing which has to be stored in the cab. This work clothing can become contaminated, damp and extremely foul-smelling. There is therefore a need to ventilate odor and dangerous gases which may be present after work has been conducted in work clothing or protective clothing in the course of professional traffic. Finally, there is a need to dry and store clothes and work clothing.
In order to overcome problems with odor and dangerous gases, contemporary trucks are usually ventilated by the introduction of fresh air by the circulation fan of the air conditioning unit. The drawback with this is a high energy consumption, which can mean that the truck batteries are drained after the fan has been running for several hours during, for example, overnight occupancy. The consequence might be that, the next day, the truck cannot be started.
A previously known device relating to a trailer having a drying closet is illustrated in patent document DE 44 23 903. This drying closet is used for drying clothes. The clothes are dried with heat by gas-heating and the air is conducted from the drying closet into the trailer.
A previously known device relating to a clothes closet for a vehicle cab is illustrated in patent document EP 309 692. This device comprises a clothes closet having a hinged cover on the top side of the clothes closet. The clothes closet is disposed closely adjacent to the sleeping space in the vehicle cab.
Another device for storing clothes, for example, in a vehicle cab is previously known from patent document U.S. D. No. 296 319, which shows a storage unit consisting of a plurality of shelves and cabinets.
A drawback with ordinary storage cabinets is that it is difficult to store and dry wet clothes or other wet articles, such as, for example, towels, therein. Clothes which are stored wet develop an unpleasant odor or, in the worst case, mold, which leads, in turn, to a poor interior environment in the vehicle. Furthermore, ordinary storage cabinets do not offer a facility for active ventilation, as is desirable when the night is spent in a truck cab.